Just to give you a hint of the importance of liver in our body, I would like to state a fact that there are more than 500 functions of liver in our body! Still, a major part of the world population, often the alcohol addicted people are showing scary signs of liver damage.
Liver is a dark reddish brown organ that you will find under the right side of your rib cage. Liver is the largest internal organ and the largest gland of the human body. There are many liver functions that make it a crucial part of the human anatomy. It is the liver that helps in the processing of food from the intestines and it also secretes bile. Bile is a fluid that does the work of digestion as well as helps in the transportation of fats and wastes into the intestine. Liver plays a key role in neutralizing the dangerous effects of drugs and toxins. Besides these, liver helps in manufacturing and regulating various hormones including sex hormones. It also makes enzymes that facilitates chemical reactions in the body and stores vitamins like iron and other necessary chemicals. Still, being such a crucial organ, liver is prone to serious diseases and the warning bells start ringing when there are several signs of liver damage.
Early Signs Of Liver Damage
The signs in the early stages are similar to those that one has to face when affected by the other medical conditions. This makes it difficult to predict the acute liver damage problems. The signs of liver damage in the early stages are mentioned below.
Loss Of Appetite
Continuous and poor appetite, that is persistently affecting the body may be a liver damage sign. In case if you feel weak and overtly exhausted with sudden loss in your food intake, you must immediately contact a medical practitioner to seek appropriate advise.
Diarrhea
Diarrhea is a condition in which the body experiences frequent fluid and bowel movement. The poor digestive system and improper functioning of the liver leads to diarrhea in many cases. It is a disease that can worsen quickly and so one must be cognizant of getting adequate treatment before time.
Fatigue
Fatigue is usually the result of dehydration that the body experiences due to the kidney failure or the problems in liver. It can be one of the signs of liver damage. The signs of fatigue may occur gradually to transform into fever, accompanied by body ache. Hence, if you feel any such signs, be quick to take action.
Jaundice
The most important sign that we can think of, is Jaundice. Jaundice turns the color of the skin pale and the person suffers from extreme fatigue and fever. Just like diarrhea, even jaundice can be a strong hint towards the possibility in the malfunctioning of liver.
Painful Itching
The person experiences severe skin itching, if there are problems with the liver. The probable explanation is bile deposition in the skin.
Abdominal Pain
A pain in the abdomen is usually a sign of enlargement and inflammation of the liver. Though, abdominal pain can be due to several other reasons, it is good to be vigilant and lookout for signs associated to internal liver problems and abdominal pain. Generally, the first signs of liver damage can be its enlargement that can indirectly cause pain the abdomen.
Light Colored Stool
If the liver is damaged, it will be unable to secrete bile that will change the color of the stool to pale and light as compared to the normal color.
Mental Distractions
Though not so dominant, still confusion and mental distractions of the person, like forgetting simple things can be observed in some people. This happens due to toxins that are accumulated in the body.
Signs of Liver Damage Due To Alcohol
One of the life-threatening medical consequences of alcohol abuse is liver damage that is prominent among a majority of the people suffering from alcohol addiction. AST, ALT, GGT are the three liver enzymes that are released into the blood stream, once the liver starts getting damaged. A simple blood test will bare the truth. Let us try to know what are the signs of liver damage due to alcohol?
Liver Cirrhosis
One of the severe causes of over-consumption of alcohol is liver cirrhosis. Liver Cirrhosis is a slow and gradual death of the liver that may even take years to surface. However, this disease shows some simple signs of liver damage, by the variety of malfunctioning it causes in the body. These signs due to onset of liver cirrhosis are mentioned below:
- In the initial stages of liver cirrhosis the metabolism rate falls and compounds like acetaldehyde are released in the liver, causing severe problems of inflammation.
- A person suffers from fatty liver disease, wherein the body accumulates fat in the liver cells.
- Alcohol Hepatitis a condition in which the efficiency of liver decreases drastically from bad to worse as the complications increases.
These were some signs of liver damage that affect the person in varying degrees. Timely check up and giving up unhealthy habits like drinking alcohol excessively can reduce the risk of liver damage to a large extent.
